


let's cast a spell (just you and me)

by lovecity (xies), sanhascroissant



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, British setting, Dates but theyre not dates but they ARE, Fluff, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Gryffindor Na Jaemin, M/M, Muggle Studies, Muggle/Wizard Relations, Ravenclaw Huang Ren Jun, Soft Na Jaemin, Summer Vacation, Tutoring, Very Creative Tutoring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:29:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23089390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xies/pseuds/lovecity, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanhascroissant/pseuds/sanhascroissant
Summary: Renjun is desperate. It's not that he's failing, because Renjun doesn'tfail,but he needs to do better thanAcceptablein Muggle Studies if he wants his dream job at the Department of International Magical Cooperation. The solution? Jaemin Na, the Gryffindor prefect, who happens to be Muggleborn — and very good at tutoring, according to Jeno. If only asking him was easier said than done.Or; Ravenclaw Pureblood Renjun gets schooled by Gryffindor Prefect Na Jaemin over summer vacation. He was a wizard, he was also a wizard… Can I make it any more obvious?
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Na Jaemin
Comments: 43
Kudos: 419
Collections: 99' ft 00' fic fest





	let's cast a spell (just you and me)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> Please enjoy the fic!
> 
> #FT111: Pureblood Renjun gets schooled in Muggle Studies by Muggleborn Prefect Na Jaemin over summer vacation.
> 
> edit 4/1/2020: aaaa we forgot to frontdate! so here it is now after reveals!! thank you for all the love <3 -robin and cony

Renjun looks at his final exam once again, as if maybe, after some consideration, the aggravating grade will disappear. The letter A stares right back, mockingly, green ink bright and colorful against the white paper.

_A._

_Acceptable_.

He had gotten an Acceptable on his Muggle Studies homework. Renjun, who only gets _Outstanding_ and _Exceeds Expectations_ , barely managed to get an Acceptable. He wanted to laugh and swear and maybe cast a Jelly-Legs Jinx on his professor.

Merlin, _why_ had he decided to take this class. What was he thinking, choosing Muggle Studies when he didn’t even care about what happened in the magic-less world. He sighs, putting back the exam with his other papers. He knows he needs the knowledge, already decided to work in the Department of International Magical Cooperation.

But more than that — Renjun was an excellent student in all his classes.

That’s why.

That’s why, when he almost failed this exact same class last year, he knew he couldn’t leave it like that. He had managed to pull out a _Exceeds Expectations_ in his O.W.L. for the class back then, but he had struggled a lot during the semester.

Renjun, being the stubborn Ravenclaw he is, felt the need to do better. So he had taken Muggle Studies _again_. And even though N.E.W.T.s aren’t until next year, his parents aren’t going to be happy about this grade. At all.

He’s screwed.  
  


｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

It’s almost a premonition coming true, because on Friday, as soon as he sits down at the breakfast table, Renjun starts to comprehend how screwed he actually _is_.

His parents send him a letter. A long, long letter, he realizes, when he opens it and takes out the stack of papers out of the envelope. The first pages congratulate him about almost finishing the semester and passing all of his courses. He doesn’t have to read any of it to know the following pages are going to be about the A he got in Muggle Studies.

He knows his parents love him very much, and have high expectations of him.

That’s exactly the reason why the letter leaves him with an unsettling feeling in his stomach, and a bitter taste in his mouth.

He has to do better.

N.E.W.T.s are coming next year, and he can’t afford to be less than _Outstanding._

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Renjun arrives just in time for his first class, Herbology. He unceremoniously sits next to Jeno, who startles. Renjun doesn’t like Herbology that much, as he doesn’t have the greenest thumb, but it’s relaxing enough, as Jeno had kindly mentioned when convincing him to take the early class instead of the midday one.

“What are you reading?” he asks, more out of habit than anything else. “Some really boring alchemy book, I bet.”

“First of all,” Jeno starts, indignantly, his eyebrows furrowing, “Alchemy is not boring.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night —”

“Second of all, no, I’m actually reading a cat magazine.” Jeno turns the page of the magazine he is holding to so Renjun can see and yeah, those are cats. Shiny pages filled with cute cats.

Renjun laughs softly. “What’s wrong with the one you have back in the Gryffindor dorms?” He teases, a cheshire grin on his lips.

“What —”

“Mark.” Renjun snickers when Jeno screeches, turning red in a matter of seconds. He hits him with the magazine in false outrage.

Jeno opens his mouth but doesn’t get to retaliate. Taeil, their Herbology professor, enters the greenhouse in a hurry. Soon, the lesson actually starts, and Renjun gets lost in administering the delicate care needed to grow knotgrass.

Renjun takes out his dragon-hide gloves after the class is done, and puts them down on the table. He packs Jeno’s and his stuff quickly, retrieving them from the clean table just beside their work table.

He sits next to Jeno tiredly.

“How did your exams go, by the way?” Jeno asks.

Renjun sighs. “Good.”

“Good?”

 _"Good,"_ Renjun echoes, taking off his black and blue outer robe. The greenhouse can get a little humid, especially after the sun starts to come out in the morning.

Jeno scoffs. “Let me guess, you’re failing Muggle Studies —”

“Wow, you got me. You’re so _clever,_ Jeno, maybe you should try for the Ministry of Magic instead.”

“So you _are_ failing Muggle Studies,” Jeno says, and if Renjun didn’t know better, he’d think Jeno was making fun of him. But he does know better, so he just sighs and faces Jeno, who is still trying to make the perfect soil mix for knotgrass.

“Can you drop that first?” Renjun asks, looking at Jeno’s dirty glove, stained with mud. The air in the greenhouse feels a little suffocating now, even with all the colorfulness and life around them.

“Okay, I’ll walk you to the next class,” Jeno replies, finally starting to clean up the mess he made in the table. “I can be late to Potions, but only because Professor Kim loves me,” he adds, carrying the pot he was using to the other table, to put it next to the others.

Renjun snorts. “Yes yes, Kim Doyoung’s prodigy child, the whole school is aware.”

Jeno takes out his gloves and turns to look at him. “Stop being mean.”

“I am _not_ mean.” Renjun hands over his book and wand as they start walking out of the greenhouse.

“You are,” he affirms, reaching for the things Renjun’s holding. “Thank you.”

“I am not — Okay, do you want to hear about Muggle Studies or not?” Renjun breathes deeply as they finally step out of the garden.

“Yes! Huang Renjun _f_ _ailing_ , wouldn’t miss it for anything,” Jeno exclaims, smiling.

“Are you sure you’re a Hufflepuff?” Renjun asks, speeding up. They are close to the castle, but they need to hurry up, because even if Jeno can afford to be late, Renjun can _not_ say the same when he has Professor Qian’s class up next.

Jeno is quick to follow. He does have the advantage of longer legs. “What kind of question — Whatever.”

Renjun stays silent for a few seconds before sighing. “I’m just... I didn’t fail, I _c_ _an’t_ fail,” Renjun finally lets out. “But I’m really not getting anything, even when I study for hours and hours. I can’t seem to grasp it. N.E.W.T.s are coming and… I’m worried. That’s all.”

“Well, you’re a pureblood. Of course it’s going to be hard for you, Renjun,” Jeno offers, comforting and sympathetic like always.

“I know that, but _still_. It’s like I can’t understand a thing, and it’s driving me crazy,” Renjun complains, with a pained expression.

“Welcome to the ordinary people's world,” Jeno deadpans. “It sucks.” He stops to open the door to let Renjun and a few other people pass through.

Renjun sighs defeatedly, and waits for Jeno a few steps ahead out of the way of most students walking in the collapsed hallway. Jeno is still waiting for more people to pass through the door, and Renjun pinches his nose. He is _so_ going to be late for History of Magic.

Jeno waits for the last people to enter before quickly catching up to Renjun.

“You know what,” Jeno says, walking side by side with Renjun to avoid colliding with the crowd of students, “I think you should ask Jaemin for help.”

Renjun stops mid-step and a Slytherin student almost crashes into him.

“Watch out!” The girl exclaims, sounding more exasperated than actually mad, already walking away.

“He’s sorry!” Jeno yells after her.

Renjun frowns. “Jaemin? As in Jaemin Na, the Gryffindor prefect?”

Jeno pushes him lightly on the back so they can start walking again.

" _Yes_ , Jaemin Na. I’m aware you don’t know him too well, but he’s actually one of my best friends, and he’s nice. I’m sure he’d be more than willing to help you out.”

Renjun shakes Jeno’s hands off of his robe. “More than willing?” He raises an eyebrow.

“Yes, Injunnie,” Jeno replies. “People can be nice, y’know. I’m still your friend, after all,” he adds with a stupidly charming smile.

Renjun rolls his eyes, but doesn’t respond. They are coming closer to Renjun’s classroom, and Jeno holds out his hand to stop him before he can go any further. “Tell me you’re going to at least ask him.”

Renjun looks at him straight in the eyes. “I’m going to ask him.”

“ _Renjun_."

He laughs quietly, _nervously_. “Okay fine, maybe, I just —” he hesitates. “I don’t know him very well.”

Jeno looks at him with a soft smile. “It’s going to be okay, I promise.”

“Okay,” Renjun finally gives in. “I will,” he says. _Maybe,_ he thinks.

“Okay, good,” Jeno replies, his eyes going into crescents. “See you later, Injunnie.”

Renjun smiles. “See you,” he says, before going in, just a moment after the bell.

Professor Qian turns around to look at him.

_Shit._

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Renjun doesn’t get the chance to ask Jaemin Na to help him out until days later. He knows about his existence because Jaemin is a good friend of Jeno and Jisung, even though they haven’t shared many conversations in the past.

But Renjun just _can’t_ seem to catch him at the right moment to ask. Because even when they are on the same year and share a solid amount of classes, Jaemin’s always busy, surrounded by people from different houses.

By the end of the week, he is beyond frustrated. It’s enough. He waits for Jaemin just before his patrol rounds start— information courtesy of Mark — even though he knows that Jaemin could probably take a few points from Renjun’s House for being outside of his dorm after hours.

He sits on the stairs, reading a book for extra History of Magic homework Professor Qian had kindly assigned him after being late to class. He's too hot in his robe, away from the cool night breeze the Ravenclaw common room provides, waiting to ask Jaemin Na for help, all thanks to a class he had decided to take again despite never understanding a single thing. 

His mind stops when he hears the sound of shoes clicking against the hard surface of the concrete stairs. He stiffens in his seat when he hears voices.

“I better take the second route, because I don’t want you to — ” he hears Jaemin pause, “Uh — Renjun?”

He closes the book and turns around to face the voices. Right there, just a few steps below him, is Jaemin Na, standing with Olivia Hye, the other 6th year Gryffindor prefect. Jaemin looks taken aback by Renjun’s presence. It’s funny, because Renjun could say the same, even when he was here specifically waiting for Jaemin to show up.

It’s probably thanks to Jaemin’s new pink hair.

Because Jaemin Na has _pink hair._

And it actually looks _good_ on him.

“Uh — yeah,” he confirms, realizing that more than a few seconds had passed without any response from him. He stands up awkwardly. “Can we talk for a second?” he asks, looking directly at Jaemin so there isn’t any confusion.

Jaemin is still looking at him, surprised, but he quickly snaps out of it.

“Yeah! Yeah, sure.” He accepts. He turns to look at Olivia for a second. “Can you wait for me in the common room, Liv? I promise I won’t take long.”

Olivia crosses her arms across her chest, contemplating, before finally deciding. “Alright,” she replies. “Ten minutes, though, or I’ll leave your ass.”

“Noted, thanks!” Jaemin says with a bright smile.

Olivia sighs before sprinting up the stairs, in the direction of the Gryffindor common room. Jaemin and Renjun are left alone, staring at each other uncomfortably for a few seconds.

“So,” Jaemin starts, saving Renjun the pain of doing so. “What did you want to talk about?”

Renjun holds the book close to his chest, and taps his finger on the cover a few times before answering. “Well...” He sighs. “I’ve been having some trouble with Muggle Studies, and —”

“You thought you’d ask the Muggleborn prefect?” Jaemin inquires, raising an eyebrow.

“No!” Renjun is quick to respond. “No, that’s not it… Jeno suggested I ask you, because you are, and I quote, _'nice.'_ I already passed the exam but I really, _really_ need to do better for N.E.W.T.s next year, and I just... I can’t seem to understand how it all works,” He despairs. “So I thought I’d ask you, since you probably — I mean you _obviously_ know more about this stuff than I do,” he blurts out, suddenly feeling very stupid. “Sorry if that was rude, I swear it wasn’t my intention, I just —”

“Oh my god, relax,” Jaemin interrupts, the corner of his mouth tugging upwards. “It’s okay, Renjun. I’d be happy to help you.”

Renjun opens his mouth, closes it, and then opens it _again._

“Wait, really?” he finally asks.

“Yes! Of course!” Jaemin exclaims. “Anything for the friend of a friend.”

“Oh…. well, thank you,” Renjun says, letting loose the tight hold his arms have around the book.

“No problem, Renjun.” Jaemin smiles widely, showing his white, perfect teeth. “I think I already know the best way to teach you.”

“Really?” He asks, taken aback.

“You’re a pureblood, right?”

“Yes,” he replies without delay.

“Well.” Jaemin takes one step closer to Renjun. “That’s probably why you have such a hard time getting the information and the theory behind it. Because you haven’t experienced it yourself.”

Renjun raises an eyebrow. “And how would I change that?”

“By going to the real Muggle world, obviously,” Jaemin immediately replies.

“But —”

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle the details.” Jaemin continues. “Just meet me outside greenhouse number six after the final ceremony. You can spend a few days at my house.”

Renjun mind is blank. “W-what —”

“Don’t pack too heavy, though.” Jaemin advises, like Renjun isn’t going through a crisis right now. “Sorry, I really gotta go now. Prefect duties,” he explains, taking one more step up the stairs. “We can talk later! See you! Also, five points from Ravenclaw from staying up late!” He says, laughing, before darting towards the Gryffindor common room, leaving Renjun no time to respond.

“See —” Renjun mutters to no one, “you.”

He sits down, taking a few moments to breathe. Well, it looks like he just made plans to hang out with Jaemin Na, the Gryffindor prefect, for a few days at the beginning of the summer.

At his house.

Maybe Renjun should have thought a little more about this.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ

The next week feels chaotic, students and teachers alike preparing for summer break. Renjun manages to complete the homework Professor Qian had given him just in time for the last class of the semester, and feels oddly proud when he gives it back with an _Outstanding_ stamped on top the next day.

“Hope I don’t catch you arriving late to class again, Mr. Huang,” His Professor chastises softly. The cold, disappointed look in his eyes is exactly what makes Kun one of the most intimidating teachers at Hogwarts. Not for Renjun, though. “Enjoy this summer break.”

“Thank you, Professor Kun,” Renjun replies, letting the nickname slip now that they’re alone in his office. “And you too,” he adds with a small smile, pacing slowly around the room. It smells like a pleasant combination of incense and jasmine, comfortable and cozy with the old leather sofa next to the shelves that are filled with books.

“If you need more books, you can write, and I’ll send you one by owl,” Kun offers, like Renjun doesn’t already have a dozen of his books in his suitcase.

Renjun laughs quietly. “Thank you, Professor.”

Kun doesn’t seem bothered by Renjun’s laugh at all. He stands up from his seat behind the desk. “I hope you know I’m expecting a full report on the ones I lend.”

“I know, I know.” Renjun sighs, thinking of all the work he is going to have to do this summer.

Kun smiles and steps around the desk. “Take care. I’ll miss you, kid.”

Renjun scoffs. “I’ll only be gone to be for two months.” He softens. “But I’ll miss you too, Professor.”

And he means it.

Professor Qian is really the best teacher he could have ever asked for.

“Now go, you need to be in the Great Hall soon,” he says, making a sweeping gesture with his hands.

“See you, Professor.”

Renjun smiles and nods politely before exiting the room.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ

The Great Hall is a mess. 

It’s filled with loud conversations from all the tables, the students eager to go back home to enjoy their break. Renjun should be happy too, about going home to his own room, his dog, and his parents.

But all he can feel right now is his guts twisting on an empty stomach. He turns around to look at the Gryffindor table, and he spots Jaemin Na right away thanks to his new pastel pink hair, looking bright even against all the colors that fill the room.

Jaemin laughs, and their gazes lock for a split second. Renjun quickly turns around, breath catching in his throat.

“Are you alright?” Chenle asks by his side.

“Yes,” Renjun replies. “Yeah. Totally.”

Chenle snickers. “Thinking about Jaemin again?”

“What do you mean _again_ —” Renjun splutters. “Oh my _god_ , I’m going to kill Jeno.”

“Well, too late, he already told me.” Chenle shrugs, and then, with a smile, adds, “Now, if you felt so inclined, you could tell me something to get back at him.”

Renjun hits him weakly in the arm, and then reaches for the last pumpkin pasty on the table. “You just want information to trade with Donghyuck. I’m not falling into your trap.”

“Whatever.” Chenle rolls his eyes. “Anyway, I think Jaemin’s nice, so —”

“Can people stop saying that, I already _know_ he’s nice —”

“People say that because he is,” Chenle deadpans. “Seriously. I think this trip is going to be good for you,” he adds, sipping his orange juice.

“Good how?”

“Just… _good_ , y’know.” Chenle is completely unhelpful.

Renjun scoffs. Because _no_ , he _doesn’t_ know.

“Are you eating that?” Chenle looks at the pasty on his plate.

Renjun sighs, handing it over to Chenle’s clear delight. “Help yourself.”

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ

The closing ceremony only lasts about an hour, but it feels like an eternity. When they’re finally discharged and good to go, Renjun looks up one more time, taking the floating candles, the way their light merges with the blue background of the ceiling. It’s beautiful, and he is going to miss this for the next few weeks, but he might as well make the best out of his vacations and everything he is missing out there.

He and Chenle walk together through the open doors, and Chenle quickly says goodbye and leaves him to look for Jisung.

“Feeling sentimental?” Jeno slides to stand beside him, suitcase in hand. They are in the Entrance Hall, a multitude of students walking past them.

“Just a little bit,” Renjun admits.

Jeno smiles softly. “Me too.”

“Are you going back to your mom’s?” Renjun asks.

“No,” Jeno replies. “I can’t. Not until winter break, at least. I would have offered to help you, but you know how it is. It’s going to be exciting to see my cats in winter, though."

“Yeah, I figured,” Renjun comments, thinking of how Jeno is trapped between two worlds, but doesn’t hate it. Instead, he takes the best of both.

Renjun sighs. Jeno seems like he is about to move, so he stops him. “Uh, I actually need to go to the greenhouse to —”

“Meet with Jaemin, I know,” Jeno says. “Have a great summer. And be nice to Jaemin.”

Renjun smirks. “We will see.”

“ _Renjun_.”

“I will, you dumbass. Take care.”

“You too, Injunnie.”

And with that, Jeno is gone, marching with his other Hufflepuff friends to the long queue of carriages. Renjun sighs before turning around, in direction to the outside garden.

“ _Ugh, why the greenhouse?_ ” he mutters to himself.

Jaemin is not outside Greenhouse Six like he promised to be the last time they talked. Renjun has half a mind to turn around and leave, but then, he hears a loud thump inside that startles him. He opens his bag, and enters the room with his wand in hand, just in case.

Jaemin Na is there, his chest and face covered by the stack of pots he is currently holding in both arms. He is struggling to balance all the heavy containers, and Renjun is sure that the sound he heard was made by one of the pots, currently shattered in pieces on the ground.

Renjun raises his wand. “ _Wingardium Leviosa_ ,” he chants, and steadily moves his wand to transport all the pots from Jaemin’s hand to the ground, slow and careful.

Jaemin breathes a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank you, Renjun. Didn’t see you coming.”

“You are welcome,” Renjun says, putting his wand away inside his robe. He is wearing normal clothes underneath, like Jeno had advised. “And you probably couldn’t have seen me coming with all that… stuff.”

Jaemin laughs, throwing his head back. “You're right,” he agrees, clapping to get the dirt out of his gloves. “Sorry for making you come here, but I needed to do some things to wrap up this place before going,” he explains, making his way to the pots and this time, taking a few instead of all of them at the same time. “Or else professor Nakamoto will kill me… Well, not kill me, he wouldn’t do that, but—”

“Professor Nakamoto? You work for him?” Renjun interrupts, suddenly feeling curious. Yuta Nakamoto is the other Herbology professor, a remarkably good one, but a Slytherin known for being a little more favoring of the ones of his own House. The fact that Jaemin is taking care of the greenhouse the professor is responsible for is, well, _impressive_ , even for Renjun.

“No, but I’m in charge of this greenhouse when Professor Nakamoto is out,” he explains like it’s nothing. He leaves the pots on the ground as he opens the door of a small closet by the corner of the room. He crouches down to grab the pots again.

“Oh, I see,” Renjun says, walking around the greenhouse. It’s just a bit smaller than the fifth greenhouse he and Jeno have classes in, and it has a better variety of plants. Renjun absorbs the textures and colors before turning to face Jaemin again.

“He left me to do a few chores today before going, because he was going to be busy with first year kids. I’m almost done anyways, I already cleaned and dried all of this,” Jaemin comments, pointing at the containers before casting a quick spell to hold the door of the closet open. He slowly walks back to the remaining stack.

Renjun steps back toward Jaemin. “Want me to help you out?” 

“Yeah, sure,” Jaemin replies, giving the pots he was holding to Renjun. “Here.”

Between the two of them, it’s quick. They only need two trips each to finish carrying the pots.

“It seems like we're done here,” Jaemin announces, wiping the sweat forming on his forehead. “Thank you for your help,” he adds with a big smile.

“It’s alright. You're going to be helping me too, after all.”

“Right,” Jaemin says, already walking out of the greenhouse. “Let’s get going, then.”

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ

The train ride back to London is short, and Renjun is surprised when Jaemin’s parents aren’t waiting at the train station for them. Instead, Jaemin grins at Renjun and pulls a pair of keys from his pocket, hanging on a lanyard.

“I learned to drive last summer, and my parents are out of town for another week,” he explains. “They left the car here when they caught the train to visit my aunt, so I’ll be driving us home.”

“Oh.” Renjun doesn’t know much about cars, but he does know that when Professor Seo showed them a diagram of one, it had an awful lot of labels. He also knows that Professor Seo had mentioned that he had once tried to learn and it had been too hard. Too many things to focus on. 

“Don’t look so nervous.” Jaemin grins. He nudges Renjun’s shoulder with his own, tossing the keys up in the air, snatching them back with a jingle. “I’m a great driver.”

“I’m sure you are,” Renjun says, trying to keep his nerves out of his voice. It evidently doesn’t work, with the raised eyebrow Jaemin throws his way.

Thankfully, Jaemin doesn’t call him out on it. He even helps Renjun lug his oversized trunk out to the car, despite his protests. They get in the car, Jaemin pointing out different buttons on the dashboard and showing Renjun how to put his seatbelt on.

Renjun finds himself far more fascinated than when he learned the same names in class as Jaemin points out the hazard lights, the air conditioning, and names all the different gears on the stick shift one by one _(drive, neutral, park)_. Jaemin finds a way to make even the mundane names interesting. His hair falls gently over his forehead, a smile constantly lighting up his face.

As soon as he’s done, they leave the parking lot. For a few minutes, Renjun is tense, expecting Jaemin to lose control or for the ride to get bumpy, but apparently Jaemin did not overstate his skills. He is an _excellent_ driver. 

Some time between the sun setting and their arrival at Jaemin’s house, Renjun falls asleep against the cool window of the car. He wakes up to Jaemin tapping his shoulder, leading him up the front steps with his trunk, and showing him to the guest room.

“We’ll have a pretty long day tomorrow,” Jaemin whispers. “So try to get some sleep!”

Renjun just nods, and Jaemin lets him be. Renjun lies down on the pillow, pretty sure he never quite woke up all the way after the drive, and falls blissfully asleep.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ

They take the subway into town early the next morning. Jaemin says that Renjun needs to see life in the city. Muggles stream past him and Jaemin in the subway station as Jaemin purchases tickets from a small box using a small square of plastic. Renjun’s mind is already running at the speed of light, filled with a million questions. 

“You can ask, you know.” Jaemin’s voice sounds amused as he pulls the piece of plastic out of the box, shooting a smile over his shoulder at Renjun. “That’s literally why we came here.”

“What the heck is that?” Renjun blurts. “How did you pay for the tickets? Why does the box eat that little plastic square?” The machine makes a small ding and spits out two little slips of paper, and Renjun jumps back, surprised. “And what the heck was _that_? How does an inanimate object make sound without magic?”

Jaemin stifles a laugh behind his hand as Renjun examines the metal box, the many buttons on the front, and the glowing white words that are marching along the screen, somehow changing without the help of magic. 

“I paid using my debit card,” Jaemin explains, holding the little piece of plastic out to Renjun. He takes it and examines it, running his fingers over the raised numbers and the name _JAEMIN NA_ printed at the bottom, next to a date. “Basically, you know Gringotts?”

“Yeah, of course,” Renjun replies quickly. 

“Muggles have banks too, but they’re not vaults in the ground guarded by dragons. People give their money to the banks to watch it, and it goes into accounts associated with the numbers that are on the card, see?” 

Renjun nods, then frowns. “But how does the money suddenly go from the bank into the machine?” 

Jaemin laughs. “It doesn’t just appear there. It stays right where it is. The bank keeps the physical money, but the value of the money is tracked digitally, and so when I swipe my debit card, it takes my account number and prompts a wireless transfer from my account to the company that runs the subway system.”

Renjun’s mind is spinning trying to take in all of this information, and even though he’s not totally sure that he gets it, he nods slowly, letting Jaemin move on to the next question. “The sound?”

“Ah, I don’t really know, to be honest.” Jaemin laughs. “There _is_ a technological explanation for it, but I never got to take engineering or computer science or anything, since I obviously didn’t go to high school. But I could probably find someone to explain it to you later. My dad probably knows, actually, he works at a tech company. But I really don’t know much about that sort of thing.”

“Oh,” Renjun says. “You mean most Muggles don’t even know how things like that work?”

Jaemin grins. “Yeah, pretty much. There’s been so much advancement in technology the past hundred years or so, it’s impossible to keep track of it all.”

“Huh,” Renjun says, surprised as he looks around the busy station, Muggles in suits and holding briefcases mixed in with groups of casually dressed teens and harried parents and children rushing to and fro. “The professor made it seem like all Muggles knew.”

Jaemin raises one eyebrow, incredulous. “Do all wizards know how to do wandless magic?”

“...No.”

“Then why on earth would all Muggles know how to work with computers?” Jaemin snorts and rolls his eyes, looking mildly annoyed. “Some wizards really don’t care to know anything about the way Muggles really live. It’s annoying.”

Renjun falls silent at that. He thinks about the way his classmates talk about Muggles, the way he never really valued his Muggle Studies class, and feels himself begin to squirm uncomfortably, his heart a little unsettled in his chest. Before he can think too hard on the feeling, Jaemin tugs him away. “Come on, we don’t want to miss our train!”

Jaemin puts their tickets into a contraption of metal bars that he calls a _turnstile_ , and they get on to the platform without too much hassle, but getting on the train is a whole other ordeal. Renjun’s a bit nervous to walk through the sliding doors, and he’s only able to do so with Jaemin’s solemn promise that they won’t close suddenly and crush him. The train itself is bumpy along the tracks, and unlike the Hogwarts Express, people are all out in the open, no compartments to separate them. 

It’s overly crowded, so they’re forced to stand, holding onto plastic loops hanging from a metal bar near the ceiling. Renjun’s whole body is pressed against Jaemin on one side and a complete stranger on the other, and Jaemin mutters to him that it’s only so busy because they caught the end of the morning commute. 

“Most people work in the heart of the city but live on the outskirts,” Jaemin explains. “Urban stratification was made possible by the advent of public transportation, like the subway, and so now everyone has to either take it or drive to get into the city in the morning.”

“It’s kinda uncomfortable with so many people.” Renjun struggles to twist and face Jaemin. “We learned about cars — why not drive?”

“Gas is _so_ expensive,” Jaemin says, grimacing. “It’s a limited resource. Plus, there’s a lot of traffic into the city at this time, so it’s easier to guarantee you’ll make it to work on time leaving at the same time every day when you use public transportation. And then if you’re late because of a failure of the train, a bunch more people will be late too, so you’re more likely to get off without getting in trouble.”

“Oh.” That makes sense. _I’m actually learning things!_ He smiles at the thought, and Jaemin grins.

“What are you smiling for?”

“You’re a good teacher,” Renjun says, smiling wider. Jaemin looks satisfied by that. A few stops later, he’s pulling Renjun off of the train.

They put their tickets through the turnstile again to leave, and ascend the steps into the sunlight onto a busy city street. The buildings tower up around them, massive spires of glass and steel, and Renjun almost feels afraid that they’re going to fall on him. 

“How can they stay up without magic?” He asks, voice full of awe and wonder, neck craned upwards and eyes taking in the sight of the skyscrapers. _What an appropriate name,_ he thinks. Reading about them in a textbook doesn’t do them justice. Here, in person, they really do look as though they touch the sky. 

“Another thing I don’t have a full answer for,” Jaemin says brightly. He doesn't seem too bothered by Renjun’s wonder, already leading him down the street while letting him continue gazing upwards. “But there's a whole field of science devoted to the way things work in the natural world called _Physics_. They’d have a field day with magic, probably eventually come up with some natural explanation for it.” Jaemin shakes his head, smiling.

“People are really smart. From what little I know about engineering, there’s structural elements that are put in place first according to the laws of Physics to make sure the building won’t fall and can sustain its own weight. They even take earthquakes and other natural disasters into account when building them depending on where they are. It’s really cool, but that’s about all I know,” Jaemin says apologetically. “There are people who study this kind of thing their whole life, so I’m by no means an expert and some of that could definitely be wrong. Again, in the Muggle world, I’m kinda a middle school drop out.”

“Merlin, don’t be sorry!” Renjun finally tears his gaze from the buildings to meet Jaemin’s eyes. “I’ve already learned more in a single hour than I ever learned in class."

“Oh,” Jaemin says, his cheeks dusted pink as he opens the door to a cafe. He looks away, a small smile on his face. “Well, thanks.”

“No problem, it’s just the truth.” Renjun shrugs and makes his way into the cafe after Jaemin.

It’s quaint, the place he’s taken them to, small tables lining the walls and low chatter humming through the place as some Muggles sip drinks and talk, others eating pastries and pressing buttons on thin sheets of metal with glowing white screens. Jaemin walks up to the counter, flashing a smile at the girl behind it, and orders something from her that sounds like it’s in another language entirely, paying using the piece of plastic — no, the _debit card_ — again.

“ _Cappuccino_ sounds like a disease,” Renjun deadpans, as they sit down at a table to wait for their drinks. Jaemin bursts into laughter, drawing the momentary glances of some of the people nearby before he stifles it behind his hand. “I hope you’re not trying to poison me.”

“Cappuccino is a kind of coffee, Renjun,” Jaemin says. “And trust me, if I was trying to poison you, I’d give you my own coffee.”

“What? You put poison in your coffee?” Renjun says, eyes widening with shock, and Jaemin starts laughing again.

“No, no,” he says breathlessly, shaking his hands in denial. “I just get it without any sweetener and add a lot of caffeine, that’s all. Pretty much everyone finds it gross but me.” He leans forward, sobering. “You know, I miss it when I’m at Hogwarts. They don’t support my caffeine addiction, and it’s disappointing.”

Renjun frowns. “Maybe you should ask the house-elves about making some for you.”

“What?” Jaemin looks confused. “How would I ask them? You never see them.”

“Do you not know where the kitchen is?” Renjun asks, shocked. 

“Uh, no? We’re not supposed to be in there anyway and hello?” Jaemin leans back, gesturing to the place on his chest where his Prefect badge once was on his robes. “Prefect? Head Boy next year? Ringing any bells?”

“Okay, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t live a little,” Renjun says, rolling his eyes. “Remind me to take you next year.”

Jaemin snorts, but says “Yeah, okay.” He gets up to get their drinks when the girl at the counter calls his name, and Renjun thinks, _it’s only been a day and we’re already making plans for when we get back to school. Jaemin Na is proving that he’s Jaemin Na._

Jaemin returns with their drinks. Renjun takes a sip and finds he likes his. It’s a little sweet, just the way he likes his tea, and he sips it eagerly. Jaemin lets him have a taste of his. It tastes like stale firewhisky. Renjun coughs. 

“That’s _disgusting_.” 

Jaemin’s smile is wide. “Told you so.”

After the coffee, they head back to the city streets and Jaemin gets them on a bus. It looks like the Knight Bus, but it’s red and has pictures of the world on the sides and no beds. Jaemin takes them up to the second story, open to the air, and has them sit by the side of the bus as he points out landmarks to Renjun, telling him a little bit about their history. 

Every so often, a voice comes over a speaker and tells them things about the landmarks they’re passing, and Jaemin tells Renjun that if he ever hears something interesting, they can get off and check it out.

They pass parks and squares and statues, multiple museums and even an old jail, but Renjun doesn’t feel interested enough to head off the bus to see any of it until the voice over the loudspeaker announces, “On your left is the National Gallery! One of the most renowned art galleries in the world, it was founded in 1864 and houses over two thousand paintings from the mid-thirteenth century to the early 1900s.”

“Let’s go there,” Renjun requests, tugging Jaemin’s sleeve. Jaemin looks over and just grins.

“Sure,” he agrees easily, and pulls on a wire that hangs just underneath the handrail, and the bus starts to pull over to the curb. Jaemin stands. “Let’s go.”

“While it’s still moving?” Renjun asks, surprised. 

“Yeah, it’s going slowly, it’s safe! Just use the rail.”

Renjun does, and soon he’s hopping from the last step of the bus to the sidewalk while Jaemin thanks the bus driver. The bus pulls away and leaves them staring across the square at the gallery. 

It’s huge, monolithic, with a massive staircase leading the way up to the entrance. The dome of the ceiling glints in the sunlight, pillars dwarfing the people at the entrance. Renjun is overwhelmed at this feat of strength, knowing that it was constructed completely without magic by Muggles hundreds of years ago, when they didn’t even have all of the things they do now. 

He wonders at how unfazed Jaemin is at the massive feat of human creativity before him as he starts forward, turning back to Renjun and gesturing for him to follow. Renjun snaps out of it and does. 

One more swipe of the debit card and they have the tickets to go inside. Renjun bounds ahead of Jaemin for once, excited to see the Muggle art. Jaemin follows; soon they’re walking down long hallways with hundreds of other tourists, looking at famous paintings. 

“They don’t move,” Renjun notes. “So why do some of them feel so animated?”

Jaemin shrugs. “That’s the beauty of art, in the Muggle world. We don’t have actual magic, so we try to create our own ways of making life magical.”

“That’s beautiful,” Renjun says. Jaemin smiles. 

“Hm, I’m glad you think so.”

They wander the halls of the museum for hours. Renjun sees paintings of Muggle battles from hundreds of years ago that are so large they span an entire wall. He sees some very small paintings of ordinary things, like a pear on a table, that Jaemin informs him are called _still life_. 

“Why do all of the babies look like full grown men?” Renjun asks, grimacing. Jaemin snorts at that.

“All the babies that look like full grown men are supposed to be Jesus,” he explains. “Since he was the Savior, or whatever, he was supposedly born perfect, so they drew him as a miniature man to illustrate that.”

“Well, he looks evil,” Renjun says, disgusted. His face settles, and he asks, curious, “Who’s Jesus?”

“Oh boy,” Jaemin says. “Have you heard of religion?” Renjun nods. He vaguely recalls Professor Seo mentioning it at least once as something that the Muggles believed in, rather than magic. “Well,” Jaemin continues, “Jesus is a religious figure.”

For the next hour or so they wander the halls, still looking at paintings, as Jaemin explains the differences between the major religions until Renjun’s head is spinning, _again_. 

Finally, tiring of the paintings and from so much walking around the massive building, they decide to call it a day. Jaemin leads the way out and back into the square, where they catch another bus (hey, Renjun’s starting to get the hang of this!) to grab a late lunch from a fast food restaurant.

Jaemin pays with his debit card yet again. A few minutes later the food arrives at their booth, delivered by a boy with a smile painted across his face along with a wish that they enjoy their meal. He leaves, and they dig in. It’s different from the food at home, or Hogwarts, or anywhere else. It’s greasier, and yeah, probably unhealthier, but Renjun can’t help but enjoy the indulgence. 

As they eat, Jaemin explains that lots of students work at fast food restaurants, from secondary school through university, which segues right into him explaining the basics of the education system.

As they get up to leave, he pulls a few pound notes from his pocket and leaves them on the table. He explains to a wide-eyed Renjun that leaving a tip for service is common practice, and that all of it goes to their waiter, unlike the money they paid for the food, which mostly goes to the restaurant. 

They wander back onto the busy streets and rather than going back to the train station, Jaemin directs them to a park in the middle of the city. It’s a bit of a walk, but Renjun enjoys the sights and sounds of the city after having lived in a small wizarding community his whole life, and Jaemin doesn’t seem too eager to start their journey back home just yet.

The park is gorgeous, with green sloping lawns, scattered gardens of colorful flowers. As they walk along the path, they pass by a duck pond decorated by rocks and plants, the ducks swimming along in little clusters. 

They find a tree to settle under, and Renjun takes to people watching. He sees a woman walking a dog, a man sitting alone on a bench and reading, a young couple across the green looking at some of the flowers. A small family lounges together, and Renjun watches as the mother blows bubbles for the baby, who seems to giggle, trying to grasp them in his little hands. He smiles warmly, remembering how as a young child, his mother would conjure balls of shimmering light for him to touch and pop.

A group of boys on the green are kicking a ball back and forth between them. Their shouts echo all the way over to where they sit underneath the tree. Renjun casts a look over to Jaemin, who is laid out against the grass, eyes closed, the dappled sunlight from the trees shining on his skin. “Hey, Jaemin?”

“Yeah?” Jaemin opens an eye, glancing over at Renjun.

“What are they playing?”

Jaemin turns to look over. 

“Oh, football. It’s a pretty common game, pretty much everyone plays for fun.”

“Do you know how to play?” Renjun asks, eyes wide. 

“Yeah, of course!” Jaemin grins and sits up. “I wouldn’t be a British Muggle — Well, Muggleborn — if I didn’t.” He starts to stand, and holds out a hand to help Renjun up, which he accepts, springing to his feet. Jaemin starts to walk towards the group. Renjun hesitates, hissing,

“What are you doing?”

Jaemin grins. “No better way to learn than hands-on practice!” He waves at the boys, calling out to them despite Renjun’s hissed protests, and soon enough they’re standing amongst the boys. 

“Hey, I’m Jaemin,” Jaemin says, grinning, and gestures to Renjun. “This is Renjun, he’s an exchange student from China, and he’s never played a game of football! Willing to help me teach him, guys?”

“Of course!” One of the guys grins, blonde hair swept up away from his face. “You need to play a game of football at least once in your life. I’m Harvey, nice to meet you, bro.” He and Jaemin engage in some strange hand clapping ritual, ending in a hug. Renjun truly has no idea how to respond to that, so he just sticks out his hand for a traditional handshake, and Harvey obliges him. 

Before long, the game commences and Renjun is truly thrown into the fire — the game is fast paced, and nobody ever really explains the rules clearly — but he still has fun trying to steal the ball from Jaemin, who laughs and yells after him, “Renjun, we’re on the same team!” 

Renjun just laughs, breathless, and passes the ball to Harvey, who kicks it towards a tree that Renjun vaguely remembers being their goal. 

Jaemin is far better at the game than him, no doubt because he’s still involved in school sports, being the Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team back at Hogwarts. _Also that he grew up playing the game,_ Renjun’s brain supplies as he runs after Jaemin, who has the ball again. _Jaemin’s Muggleborn, remember?_

They play game after game, and he and Jaemin don’t leave the park until the clear sunshine begins to change into late afternoon golden light. They wave goodbye to the group of boys, who grin back cheerfully, also getting ready to head home. 

Catching the train back is easier than it was the first time. Renjun is already a bit more sure of himself than before, and a lot more comfortable with Jaemin after their day-long excursion. He’s sweet, more genuine than Renjun had expected out of the school’s sweetheart. Renjun find himself overwhelmingly grateful for his help. 

That night, right before falling asleep, Jaemin asks quietly into the silence of his darkened room, “How was it?” 

His voice in the dark seems more nervous than Renjun’s ever heard it, almost vulnerable, and Renjun scrambles to reassure him.

“It was amazing, Jaemin, really. Thank you so much.” 

“Oh.” It’s impossible to tell the expression on Jaemin’s face in the pitch-black of the night, but Renjun likes to imagine that he’s smiling. “You’re welcome.”

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ

The day dawns bright and early, Jaemin dragging Renjun out of bed early in the morning with the promise of a fun day by the sea. They leave Jaemin’s house in the chill of the morning air, but there’s no subway this time — Jaemin tells Renjun that they’ll be attending a local Muggle Fair. 

“I think you’ll find it super interesting!” Jaemin enthuses as they make their way through the small seaside town. “Muggles have achieved some crazy things with engineering.”

Renjun is still tired, and the cold is only making him sleepier, so he yawns before he answers, asking, “What’s engineering? I know you mentioned it yesterday, but I’m still not completely sure I understand…”

“It’s okay, I don’t really get it either,” Jaemin shrugs. “The best I can describe it is that it’s a part of science and technology that has to do with designing and building things?”

“Hm,” Renjun considers this. “But then what’s architecture? Professor Seo described it in the same way you described engineering.”

“Hey, now that you pointed it out, they are kinda similar!” Jaemin grins, practically delighted. “Architecture just has to do with buildings, though. Engineering can be for all kinds of things.” Jaemin pauses. “Kind of like how all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares.”

 _“What?_ ” Renjun stares at Jaemin, alarmed.

“Don’t worry about it!” Jaemin waves his hand, laughing. “I’ll explain later, if you really want.” 

“Don’t laugh at me,” Renjun pouts, a bit put out. “I know I’m not the best at understanding this stuff, but I’m trying!”

“Oh, Renjun, I’m not laughing at you.” Jaemin sobers, fixing Renjun with an apologetic gaze. “I’m just really happy. The fact that you asked the architecture question shows that you’re starting to understand this stuff more, so I’m kinda excited, that’s all.” His sudden seriousness catches Renjun off guard and he can feel his cheeks starting to turn red, but before he even has a chance to consider what the hell _that_ might mean, Jaemin grabs his wrist and pulls him forward.

“Look, we’re here!”

At the end of the street, there’s a park that stretches along the shoreline, the sea just beyond that, cold and gray in the pale morning sunshine. Just a bit down on the green there seem to be multiple structures made of twisting metal tubes, a strange gazebo with horses on sticks moving in circles, a massive metal umbrella with swings hanging from the tips, and countless other things that Renjun doesn’t even know how to describe. 

He feels overwhelmed just looking at them. Suddenly Jaemin’s arm is around his shoulders and he’s giving Renjun an encouraging smile as they make their way to join the crowd of Muggles that stand outside the gates enclosing all of the structures, and Jaemin explains that it’s a temporary amusement park, but the fair hasn’t opened yet, so the “rides” are still all locked up. 

“The lines for the rollercoaster and the giant swings can get long, so I brought us here to wait for rope-drop,” Jaemin says brightly, the words completely flying over Renjun’s head. “I figure we can get most of the rides out of the way before it gets too busy, and then do some of the smaller attractions and go check out the beach later in the afternoon, you know?”

“No, I don’t. To be honest, I’m extremely confused,” Renjun says, feeling a little lightheaded at the mention of so many unfamiliar words. “But I trust you. Now, what the name of Merlin is a rollercoaster?”

A rollercoaster, it turns out, is what they’re waiting in line for, and Jaemin explains that it’s super safe and super fun, nothing to be worried about. Strangely, Jaemin’s words only make Renjun _more_ worried, especially when the fair opens and he watches the little cars zip around on the metal tracks in the air, the people inside screaming bloody murder.

“There’s no way that’s safe!” Renjun glares at Jaemin. “You’re literally trying to get me killed.”

“I’m not, Renjun, I _swear_. These things are tested relentlessly. There’s no way it’ll fail.” Jaemin just grins as they reach the front of the line. Renjun shakes his head, nervous beyond belief. 

“Jaemin, those people were screaming,” Renjun tugs on his sleeve, but Jaemin just smiles reassuringly as they ascend the steps to the rollercoaster.

“It’s as easy as riding a dragon,” Jaemin says comfortingly as he slides into the seat, pulling Renjun after him. 

“Yeah, but —” Jaemin pulls the bar down over their laps, and Renjun cuts himself off abruptly as an employee comes by to check it. She smacks her gum loudly as she presses down on the bar, the vinyl cracked and curling from sun exposure, before walking off. Renjun continues from where he left off, hissing in Jaemin’s ear.

“The last person to ride a dragon was Harry Potter, and it’s not exactly described as being easy!”

Jaemin laughs. Renjun is about to retort when the ride starts to move and any thought Renjun might have had is swept away by sheer and utter panic. He freezes, snapping his mouth shut and holding onto the bar as they shoot forward, moving upward and around.

“Renjun, you should scream!” Jaemin’s voice is hard to hear over the wind and the dreadful noise of the machine itself, but Renjun just catches it. He shoots Jaemin a look, but Jaemin nods encouragingly, eyes nearly squinted shut against the wind. “It’ll make you feel better! I’ll do it too, ready?”

Jaemin screams, and a moment later, hesitantly, Renjun joins him.

Jaemin is right — the screaming loosens him up, and he lets go of the bar, a smile spreading across his face as he raises his arms in the air to join Jaemin’s. 

When they stumble off the ride after it ends, Renjun is breathless, smile wide. Beside him, Jaemin’s hair is mussed from the wind, his cheeks pink from the chill, and Renjun beams up at him. “I can’t believe that was done with no magic at all!”

“I know!” Jaemin grins. “Muggle inventions are pretty freaking cool.”

They spend the rest of the morning going on ride after ride, Renjun enjoying them all after the initial nervousness of the rollercoaster. The sun rises higher and higher into the sky until it reaches its zenith, burning the morning fog away so that the sun begins to beat down mercilessly.

After nearly half a day of running around, Renjun is starting to feel more hot and tired than he’d like to admit. Jaemin seems to catch on soon enough, grinning at Renjun as they pause beside a vendor who is selling a Muggle treat of some kind that Jaemin calls _cotton candy._

“Hey, you seem kinda hot. Wanna head to the beach?” Jaemin’s eyes are sparkling, his smile wide as he slides some paper money across the vendors stand and accepts the cotton candy in return, and all Renjun can think is: _It matches the color of his hair._

“Oh, yeah, sure!” He snaps out of his reverie to answer Jaemin’s questioning gaze. “The beach sounds fun.”

And so they head down to the beachfront together, chattering all the way.

Renjun has seen the sea before, a long time ago. He doesn’t remember that much. What he does remember is the sound of the waves and the immense, endless blue behind them. It’s the first time, though, that he’s been at the beach like this, just to see it.

It feels different.

With the sun setting, the blue mixes with burnt orange, and it’s a scene so beautiful that Renjun thinks there’s no way he can forget it.

They walk to the shore. Jaemin offers his hand to walk through the sand. Renjun is grateful, because his balance is not the best. He’s also just a bit embarrassed, the feeling of Jaemin’s hand on his own tingling up his arm, like the salty breeze on his cheeks and lips.

They walk until the sand under their feet is wet, and they begin to leave footsteps behind them as they walk side by side.

The waves are as amazing as he remembered.

“Do you wanna take your shoes off?” Jaemin asks, looking at him. Renjun can’t take his eyes off the sea yet, so he only nods, mindlessly crouching down to take his runners off. When he stands up, the sand gets in between his fingers, and it’s wet and just a bit cold. He laughs, surprised even though he shouldn’t be.

“It’s so cold!” Renjun says. “I hate it.”

“Don’t worry,” Jaemin replies, laughing. “I do too.”

Renjun frowns. “Why would anyone want to have sand in their feet?”

“Well, it’s a part of the experience, and I guess some people love the beach enough to tolerate it,” Jaemin explains, taking a few steps ahead, closer to the water. He extends a hand with a smile on his face. “Come here.”

Renjun inhales deeply, and takes a step.

The sand is even more wet now, with the previous wave had retreated from that point. Jaemin has the ends of his jeans cuffed, revealing some tanned skin, and Renjun thinks he should have done that too, but it’s too late, because the wave is already close, breaking into the shore, and Jaemin is taking his hand again, eyes bright and smirk on his face, pulling him deep into the sea, until it reaches into his knees, and Renjun lets out a shriek. The coldness of the sand is nothing compared to this.

“Hope you like water!”

“Isn’t it a bit too late to ask that?”

Jaemin laughs again, bright and open. Renjun can't help but smile at the sound, the water flowing between his calves and feet. He takes a step forward, closer to Jaemin, splashing water everywhere into his skin, and right now, he thinks there is no place he would rather be.

“I wish we could use a drying spell right now.” Renjun holds his sneakers in one hand as he tries to wipe some of the sand off his feet with his other one. They sit on a wooden bench just off the beach, and the fabric of his pants sticks to his skin, wet and uncomfortable. The maritime breeze is cold against his skin, and he shivers slightly.

“No magic in the Muggle world, remember?” Jaemin says, sitting beside him, already putting his own runners on.

“I know,” Renjun replies, goosebumps on his arms. His feet are finally sand free, so he quickly puts his socks on. "But it’s still so cold!” he complains, stepping on his sneakers, as he raises a foot behind him to pull the end of it.

“Don’t worry,” Jaemin says, putting a hand on his shoulder, so Renjun doesn't fall. "I can keep you warm,” he adds, winking, and Renjun takes a sharp breath.

"Is this the flirting Jeno always talks about?" he asks, almost indignant, as he finally manages to put his shoe.

Jaemin laughs, throwing his head back.

"It might be," he says, winking again.

Renjun shakes his head, huffing. And it just might have worked, what Jaemin had said, with the way Renjun's cheeks warm up, and there is only that tingling sensation left on his skin.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ

Renjun wakes up to the smell of breakfast, a mix of eggs and toast and tea. In the time he’s been here, he has learnt that Jaemin is actually a very good cook. Not that Renjun isn’t, but he can’t deny it's nice to have Jaemin cook for them. Renjun helps in the kitchen too, of course. Except for today, apparently.

“Good morning,” Renjun greets, yawning into his hand. Jaemin turns around, holding the pan with his hand. He’s wearing a pink sweater, hair wet and messy, and Renjun suppresses a smile.

“Hey,” Jaemin replies. “Here, sit down!” he instructs, pointing at the chair with his right foot. “Wait, can you get the orange juice out of the fridge first?”

Renjun nods, getting the juice out of the fridge before sitting down. He puts the juice besides the bread on the table. “Why didn’t you wake me up?” He rests his face on his hand while looking at Jaemin. Well, Jaemin’s back, mostly. He has broad, strong shoulders, and Renjun thinks it’s unfair. Jaemin’s already tall and pretty, why does he get a good body on top of that?

“But you look so nice while sleeping, Injunnie,” he suddenly replies, a smirk on his face as he turns around, putting the pan on a wooden board.

“Shut up.” It’s the only thing he can reply without embarrassing himself. Jaemin is a tease. Renjun can’t fight back at nine in the morning.

“Want tea?” Jaemin takes the teapot from the stove and serves two cups before Renjun even has the chance to answer.

“Thank you,” Renjun says, as Jaemin finally sits down beside him on the table.

“You’re welcome,” Jaemin flashes him a smile. He takes a toast, putting some of the cooked eggs on it, and motions Renjun to do the same. “Are you ready for today?” he asks, munching on his food.

“I think so,” Renjun considers, passing Jaemin a napkin. “What are we doing today again?” 

“Oh, you’ll see,” Jaemin says, grinning. “I have a feeling you’ll love it.”

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ

Turns out, they are supposed to hang out at the Arcade today. Jaemin explains what it is on their way there, and Renjun is left feeling pretty excited to check out Muggle’s game machines, even if he’s never been big on gaming.

When they get there, Jaemin buys them a bunch of big coins with Muggle money and shows them to Renjun.

“We can play with these,” he says, giving one to Renjun to hold, who accepts it, weighing it in his hand. “Here, let me show you.” Jaemin gestures him closer to one of the games. This one has a lot of colors inside the glass, with bright lights illuminating different paths. Jaemin guides Renjun’s hand with his own, inserting the coin into the machine. Jaemin’s hand is warm, and Renjun’s cheeks heat up when he feels Jaemin behind him.

“You pull back this handle here,” Jaemin says, close to his ear, and Renjun doesn’t know what’s worse, that Jaemin is leaning into him, close, or that he doesn’t really mind it. “And then, you let go,” he instructs, and Renjun opens his hand.

A white ball jumps from the right corner and into the paths, fast.

“You have to try to not let the ball fall,” Jaemin explains, guiding Renjun’s hands to the buttons at the sides of the machine. “You press this here,” he says, fingers between Renjun’s. “To push the ball up.”

“Okay.”

Renjun does try to do as instructed, but ends up losing too fast anyways. Jaemin laughs cutely, and puts another coin into the machine. Renjun panics, pushing both buttons erratically. He quickly decides he doesn’t like the game, even with Jaemin’s body close behind, his hand still on his own.

When the ball falls over yet again, Renjun asks to play anything else. Jaemin takes his hand, turning him around.

“You’re such a sore loser,” Jaemin says, a deep laugh coming out of his mouth. “You can’t even win at this game, Injunnie.”

“What you mean, you can’t win?” Renjun asks, mildly annoyed. Not at Jaemin; at the game. Jaemin puts his fingers around Renjun’s wrists with a sly smile on his face, and okay, maybe he's just a tiny bit annoyed at him, too.

“You see,” Jaemin replies, his face coming closer. “No matter what you do,” he continues, looking at him, and Renjun has half a mind to turn around and leave Jaemin here. “You end up falling anyways.”

Renjun sees Jaemin’s stare go from his eyes to his lips, and his cheeks burn. “That’s even worse!” he exclaims, slapping Jaemin’s hand away.

“I guess so,” Jaemin replies, looking at him for a second, before laughing as he steps back. “Come on, we have plenty of games to try!”

They end up trying pretty much every game Jaemin lays his eyes on. Renjun doesn’t complain, even if Jaemin is more excited about the whole thing than he is. He ends up really enjoying the one with the guns, and the zombies, because they can play together, and Renjun definitely has a steadier hand than Jaemin.

Also, he likes winning.

Jaemin points out a machine along one of the walls. Renjun, fascinated, follows Jaemin as he explains the game.

The machine consists of a little claw in a big plastic box that Jaemin controls deftly with a small stick. The plastic box is filled with plushies of a character that Renjun has never seen, but that he falls in love with immediately. Jaemin calls him Moomin. Renjun would gladly spend his life savings on this game if it meant he got to have a plushie of the little creature for himself.

He tries the game excitedly with Jaemin’s instructions, but to his dismay the plushie slips through the metal claws of the machine. He frowns. Jaemin reassures him, “I’m an expert at these games, don’t worry.” But Jaemin fails again, and Renjun again, and then Jaemin, until Jaemin shakes his head. 

“These things are usually rigged,” he explains, leaving Renjun to frown as they leave the claw machine behind. “Don’t worry, we can go and buy a Moomin plushie later.” Renjun sighs, then smiles.

“I suppose,” he says, sighing in a falsely put-upon way.

“I invited some friends,” Jaemin says, as they walk towards the game Renjun liked yet again. “I hope you don’t mind. I was hoping we could play laser tag together.”

Renjun raises an eyebrow at that. Jaemin pauses for a second before laughing.

“Oh, right, sorry,” he says, taking a coin out of his pocket. “It’s a game where you split into two teams, and you have a gun and it has a laser, that’s like a light —” Jaemin looks at him, and stops himself at Renjun’s expression. “I’ll explain later, but I promise you it’s not hard,” he continues, introducing the coin into the machine

“Okay,” Renjun replies, a smile on his face as he turns to the screen, watching the game start. “Are they nice?” he asks, as he selects the smallest character. He had randomly picked it the first time playing, but he had stuck with it the next few times.

“Who?” Jaemin asks, looking at him from the side.

Renjun points the gun at the first zombie to appear on the screen. “Your friends.”

“Oh, I think so, yeah,” Jaemin mutters absently. “I mean, they are my friends, I couldn’t —”

“Merlin, Jaemin,” Renjun interrupts, laughing this time, eyes still on the screen as he slaps Jaemin’s arm. “I’m kidding, of course I don’t mind,” he exclaims. “Are they Muggles? What are you telling them?”

“They are,” Jaemin replies. “Uh, I don’t know, that you’re my classmate at the boarding school I go to?” he says, and while it doesn’t sound convincing, the way Jaemin talks like he just made it up, it’s actually not a bad idea.

“That’s smart,” he says, considering it, as he points at a zombie’s head. Jaemin had told him it was easier to kill them that way.

“Muggleborns live two lives, you know?” Jaemin says, something in his voice that Renjun can’t exactly pinpoint. “You get used to it,” he continues, as he kills yet another zombie. “Most people think it’s a hassle, but for me, it’s fun.”

“Really?” 

“Yeah!” A fond look takes over Jaemin’s features. “I get to experience both worlds with the people I love.”

"That’s a really lovely way to look at it.”

“Isn't it?” Jaemin grins. The game finally comes to an end, and Jaemin pulls Renjun out of his seat. “Come on, laser tag time!”

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ

Jaemin’s friends are nice enough.

They welcome Renjun with open arms, clapping Jaemin on the back and telling him they’ve missed him during the school year. Before long they’re all suited up in strange vests covered in blinking lights that the worker explaining the rules to them calls _sensors_. They’re split into teams. Jaemin and Renjun end up on opposite sides. Despite Jaemin’s offer to switch, Renjun decides that it would be a bit unfair to tamper with the team lineups.

It’s no big loss to him — he quickly allies himself with one of Jaemin’s Muggle friends, a very nice boy named Yangyang who curses under his breath in a mix of German and Mandarin and is only too willing to help Renjun and the rest of their team devise a plan to take down Jaemin’s. 

They’re huddled together on their team’s side of the low-lit room, and the game is about to start. The fact that they are pressed for time, however, doesn’t seem to worry Yangyang in the slightest as he lays out the plan. 

“I’m thinking Renjun — you’re small and probably fast, right?” Renjun nods, and Yangyang smirks, pleased. “Try to hide somewhere on the second level of that structure over there, and take them out from above without getting caught.” Renjun surveys the spot that Yangyang is pointing to. He nods. He can do that.

“Sanha, Yeji, you two can try to sneak around the left side to attack. Sunwoo and Heejin, you take the other way. As for me,” Yangyang meets their eyes, determined. “I’ll head at them straight on, and try my best to draw their fire. Everyone in?”

They all nod enthusiastically, just in time. The buzzer goes off to begin the round, and Renjun scrambles for the higher perch. 

For a while, things proceed exactly as they should. Renjun finds it’s a bit like the zombie game from the arcade, and it’s relatively easy to pick off other players from up high.

He’s so absorbed in it, in fact, that he completely fails to notice Jaemin approaching him from behind until his vest flashes, betraying the fact that someone has shot him from behind. He spins around to meet Jaemin’s smug gaze.

“Jaemin Na, you cheat!” Renjun gasps, affronted, and does his best to whirl around and stand. Unfortunately, after sitting for so long, he’s just the slightest bit off balance, and falls right into Jaemin’s arms. 

He’s so surprised he doesn’t manage to say anything at all, just staring up into Jaemin’s eyes. To his shock, Jaemin doesn’t seem to know what to say either, not even trying to shoot him again. 

Renjun swallows. He opens his mouth to say something, _anything,_ when they’re interrupted by Yeji dashing around a corner.

“Nice, Renjun, you’ve got him where we want him!” She shoots Jaemin in the shoulder. He lets go of Renjun, snatching his gun back to go after her with a laugh, and just like that, the moment is over.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ

The next day, the last day of his stay, Jaemin decides they should stick around the house. It’s not a wasted day by any means — Jaemin takes the time to show Renjun around the house, explaining the air conditioning and the plumbing, the television and the kitchen appliances, Renjun fascinated by each one.

The television is kind of like pictures in the wizarding world, with all the moving images, but Jaemin explains that these pictures don’t have consciousness — they’re just pixels on a screen. Renjun is fascinated, but still a bit confused, so Jaemin laughs and sets up something he calls “video games." 

“This should help you get it,” Jaemin says, handing Renjun a strange, almost bow-shaped hunk of plastic, covered in buttons and a little stick thing. “If you look on the screen, you see that little character there?”

Renjun looks, and sure enough, there’s a small creature swaying back and forth on the screen. It looks vaguely like a toadstool, but the colors are far too bold and bright, and it has a face. Renjun stares at it for a moment. “Uh, yes?”

“You can control it, just like the characters from the arcade,” Jaemin explains patiently. He points to the little stick thing on the left side of the plastic bow. “Just move that around, and he’ll follow the way you push it.”

Renjun obliges, and sure enough, the little toadstool character moves. He’s strangely delighted by it, and he feels a sudden urge to congratulate the little character for following his instructions so closely. He almost does, before remembering what Jaemin said — pixels on a screen. 

Renjun keeps moving around the little character, and eventually Jaemin shows him how to make it hit things by pushing the buttons in different orders, and then they fight each other for a while. Renjun may be a little toadstool man (according to Jaemin, his name is aptly just “Toad”) but Jaemin’s character is a little green dinosaur looking creature that he calls “Yoshi.” 

They play for hours, and Renjun thinks he’s starting to get the hang of it, even though Jaemin still beats him every time. Then they leave the plastic bows — that game controllers, as Jaemin calls them — and go for a walk around Jaemin’s small town. 

He shows Renjun the shops, helps him understand the currency by showing him different price tags, and encourages Renjun to pick out the correct amount of money for the price. Jaemin shows him the difference between the pence coins and the pound coins, and that one hundred pence is equal to one pound. 

“It should be a piece of cake,” Jaemin reassures him as they stand in line at the checkout of a Muggle store filled with food. Renjun is clutching a chocolate bar, graduated from just picking out the right amount of money for Jaemin to check to actually trying to pay for something in a Muggle shop.

“After all,” Jaemin continues, oblivious to Renjun’s nerves, “One hundred pence to a pound is a much easier system to learn than twenty-nine knuts to one sickle, and then seventeen sickles to a galleon, and I did okay!” 

Renjun doesn’t even have the time to respond before the customer in front of them walks away, and the girl behind the counter holds her hand out for Renjun’s candy bar. He gives it to her and she slides it along the counter. It passes over some kind of red light, and the little box in front of her beeps.

“That’ll be two seventy three,” she says, smacking a piece of gum and shifting to look Renjun’s direction. He fumbles with the coins for a moment, turning red, but thankfully he remembers what Jaemin told him and he successfully hands her two pounds and seventy three pence. 

“Thank you,” the girl says, exchanging the money for the candy bar, handing it back to Renjun. “Do you want a receipt?”

Renjun shoots a glance in Jaemin’s direction, but he subtly shakes his head. “No,” Renjun blurts. “I mean, no thank you.”

“Sure,” the girls says, frowning, a bit put off. “Have a good day.”

“You too!” Jaemin says, and then they’re leaving, Renjun breathing a huge sigh of relief as they go past the sliding glass doors back to the main street. 

Jaemin wraps his arms around Renjun’s shoulders and grins widely, complimenting him on a job well done, and before Renjun can even catch his breath he’s already pulling Renjun away to see something new.

As they walk along the street side by side, Renjun sends a silent thank you to Jeno — he could have asked anyone, but only Jaemin is absurdly nice enough to let a friend of a friend, someone he barely knew before, stay at his house just to be able to pass Muggle Studies with flying colors. He could have easily seen it as an insult, seen Renjun as taking advantage of their shared friend or being shallow for hanging out with him just because he lives in the Muggle World when he’s not at Hogwarts, but Jaemin has been nothing but kind and welcoming, and even after only a few days, he already seems like a real, genuine friend.

As they’re walking, Renjun looks up at Jaemin smiling as he chatters about the Muggle concept of customer service and the public transportation system and whatever else he thinks could be helpful, and Renjun thinks, _I don’t want to lose this._

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ

That evening, Jaemin drives them to go see something he calls a movie. 

“Renjun, going to the drive-in movies is a cultural staple,” Jaemin says, practically giddy as he drags the duvet out of the trunk of the car, tossing a few pillows for Renjun to hold. “It’s just like going to the movies, but it's _way_ cooler. We tune into a certain radio station and we can hear the audio, and we can stay warm in the car with our pillows and blanket and just watch in peace! It’s _a_ _wesome_.”

“Sorry,” Renjun says, a bit lost. “Can we rewind to the bit about the radio? How does that work?”

“Oh! Sure!” Jaemin pulls open the door to the driver’s seat and Renjun follows suit with the passenger side. Once they’re settled, Jaemin pushes a little button on the front side of a rectangular box in the center, and it starts playing some song that Renjun has never heard before. 

“So right here is the radio. We can adjust the volume by turning this little knob to the right, see?” Jaemin does, and the lady singing gets a lot louder. Renjun winces. Jaemin turns it back to the left. “Sorry, sorry! Right here, where these numbers are — that shows us the radio station that we’re on!”

“Do the numbers stand for anything?” Renjun stares at the blinking ninety-one point five, and Jaemin grins.

“I actually have an answer for this one! I learned from my dad. It stands for millions of cycles per second! So at this radio station, its transmitter is spinning around at ninety one and a half million cycles per second!”

“What does that even _do?”_ Renjun is confused to say the least, but Jaemin doesn’t seem to be able to explain it exactly either, and Renjun tries to remember what Jaemin said on the first day: that Muggles aren’t experts in every single thing that’s been invented. 

“Well, I’m not sure specifically, but it transmits the sounds that we’re hearing right now! Our radio tunes into those frequencies and gives us the sound!” Jaemin pauses. “Does that make sense?”

It doesn’t, really, but if Jaemin could suspend his disbelief about magic and learn to use it, Renjun could damn well do the same for the radio, so he shrugs. “Kind of?”

“Good enough!” Jaemin beams. He frowns and rummages around. “So, if you can find our tickets that they gave us at the front…” He finds them in one of the pockets in the door and then grins, waving them at Renjun before pointing out the one hundred and three point six printed smack-dab in the middle. "..it’ll tell us what radio station to tune into to hear the audio of our movie. See?”

Jaemin shows Renjun how to tune the radio and then lets him find the audio just in time for the movie to start. It’s an interesting enough story, with plenty of adventure and daring characters and excitement, but Renjun can’t help but find Jaemin’s explanations of the special effects and filming techniques far more interesting. Lis eyes light up as he describes the way that movie sets work and just how many people are involved with the making of a movie.

“Sorry,” he says, eyes bright after a short rant about the masterful use of camera angles in a particular scene. “I had a bit of a film geek phase in second and third year, and it’s stuck with me a bit. Tell me if I’m talking too much — I know how annoying that can be.”

“It’s not annoying,” Renjun says honestly. “It’s important to you. Don’t apologize for being excited about something you’re passionate about.”

“Oh.” Renjun can’t see well in the low light, but he could have sworn that the tips of Jaemin’s ears were just a little bit pink. “Thanks, Renjun.”

They fall into silence, watching the movie until its end. The other cars begin to pull out of the lot, going back home, but Jaemin makes no move to drive anywhere, instead gesturing for Renjun to follow him as he opens the car door, dragging his duvet with him. Renjun follows, and Jaemin is hoisting himself onto the roof of his car. 

"Whoa! What are you _doing?"_ Renjun gapes as Jaemin makes himself comfortable, pulling the duvet around him to make a sort of nest. He looks down at Renjun and laughs. 

"Stargazing! Come on up and join me, it's a better view up here!"

Renjun hesitates, but Jaemin holds out a hand, and how can he refuse that? So Renjun, against his better judgement, joins Jaemin on the roof of the car. It's chilly, but Jaemin offers him half of the duvet. Renjun gladly accepts, wrapping himself up in the duvet too, so his side is pressed against Jaemin's. _It's just because he's warm,_ Renjun thinks to himself, and it's not a lie — Jaemin is Renjun's own personal heater as they sit there, acclimating to the cold.

"So, what's the point of stargazing?" Renjun ventures after a long moment of silence.

"Well, why don't you see for yourself?" Jaemin gestures upwards, and as Renjun casts his gaze upwards, he can't help but gasp. The drive-ins are a little outside the city, and now that the movie is over, there's no light anywhere, just the soft yellow glow of the lamplight somewhere far behind them, where the ticket booths are. But in the parking lot, it's dark and quiet, and the stars sparkle bright in the sky, like white paint splattered across a deep blue and purple canvas, and yes, Renjun totally understands now.

"Wow," he breathes. Jaemin smiles, his own eyes tilting upwards, reflecting the light from the stars. 

"I know, right?"

For a while, they just sit there, taking in the sight. They end up lying down on top of Jaemin's car so they don't have to strain their necks any longer. Renjun can see his own breath, frosty in the cool of the night air, only made more stark by the contrast of Jaemin's heat against his side.

After a while, Jaemin starts to talk softly, pointing out the few constellations he knows. "That one's Orion's belt," he says, pointing."And there's the Big Dipper." He pauses. "Did you know that some Muggles believe that your personality is dependent on the stars that are out when you're born? I'm a Leo."

Renjun was following, but now Jaemin's lost him. "Uh, no? You're a Jaemin?"

For some reason, Jaemin starts to laugh, his smile overtaking his face entirely. Renjun's still confused, but he likes the sound of Jaemin's laugh too much to press for any real answers, instead waiting until Jaemin's laughter dies down naturally, knowing that Jaemin will explain.

And he does, of course. He explains. _Just like he always does,_ Renjun thinks fondly as Jaemin waffles on about astrology and destiny and how it's all bullshit, really.

It's then that it strikes him as he watches Jaemin talk, the stars swimming in his irises. Renjun realizes.

_Oh._

It's something a little less than love, but a little more than like. Renjun decides not to think too much about it — somehow, he feels that everything will turn out for the best. 

And so they spend what seems like forever there, two boys on top of a car in an abandoned parking lot, watching the stars, and not for the first time, Renjun thinks that he could stay here, with Jaemin, forever. He could stay with Jaemin and his indiscriminate smiles, his cotton-candy pink hair, his never ending patience and kindness. Of course he could. There's no place he'd rather be. 

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ

Jaemin and Renjun end up falling asleep under the stars. They wake up at the sound of a car passing close by, loud and thunderous in their ears. Renjun is confused until he feels Jaemin's hand between his own.

It's windy out here, and Renjun’s face feels cold and a bit numb, but it’s also cozy under the duvet, warm beside Jaemin.

"Let's go home." Jaemin yawns into his free hand and squeezes Renjun’s.

Renjun nods, and softly squeezes back.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ

The ride back is peaceful, as it’s past midnight, and there aren't many people or cars left on the streets. Jaemin asks Renjun to tune in to the radio, and he does, choosing a song he likes. It isn’t too loud, and Renjun feels himself starting to drift off, when the sound of Jaemin’s voice wakes him up.

“How was the week? Did you enjoy studying the Muggle world my way?”

“It was fun,” Renjun smiles even if Jaemin can’t see him. “Thank you so much, Jaemin. I really have no way of repaying you for this.”

“Don’t worry,” Jaemin says immediately, as he looks at the road ahead of them. “I didn’t mind showing you around at all.”

“Still, thank you,” he insists, thinking of all the stuff they had done together this past week. “I learnt so much!”

“I’m glad, then,” Jaemin says, smiling at the road. “You’re a good student, too. As expected of a Ravenclaw.”

“What do you mean?” Renjun asks as he looks out the window. There’s light coming from the street lamps, but it all feels static, with the way they are the only ones moving.

“You’re really curious about everything,” Jaemin turns left. Renjun doesn’t recognize any of the houses yet. “That makes you a good learner, because you’re actually interested in learning. I’m glad you never looked down on Muggles, or Muggle things, too,” he says. “And you didn’t let new things intimidate you.”

“That was the least I could do, honestly. Did you expect me to come here to insult you or your friends?” Renjun asks, tone teasingly offended. “I do get intimidated, though,” he quickly adds, remembering the way he had fumbled when paying with Jaemin’s money, or the way he still gets shy when Jaemin flirts with him.

“But you don’t let that stop you,” Jaemin retorts, just as fast. “As a Gryffindor, I really admire that.”

Renjun almost chokes on his spit, but manages to at least say _thank you._

“You’re such a weird Gryffindor,” he says, laughing awkwardly. “Has anyone told you that you give off Slytherin vibes?”

“Yeah,” Jaemin laughs. “I was a Hatstall, actually. But I was put into Gryffindor in the end,” he explains, and it makes so much sense now. “Maybe it was because I was scared from the first step I took into Hogwarts, but I wanted so badly to be brave, that it was all I could think off. To be brave.”

Renjun vaguely remembers. He had heard of it, of a boy in their year who had almost been a Slytherin, but had been put into Gryffindor at the end. It had been big news, back then, but Renjun had been too wrapped up in his own sorting to remember that it had been Jaemin, of all people.

Most of all, though, Jaemin had been scared. Renjun could picture it; a tiny Jaemin, experiencing everything for the first time. He could picture it, but he could not imagine how hard it was to go through that, alone.

“I admire you, too, you know?” he decides to say, after a while, as Jaemin slows down the car. They’re close to the house now, and Renjun can see Jaemin’s front yard from here. “Everything was new for you when you came to Hogwarts, and you didn’t have anyone to guide you everywhere like I had here.” He smiles. “You’re really something, Jaemin Na.”

Jaemin laughs as he stops the car just outside his house.

“Thank you,” Jaemin says, as they walk to the door. “But it wasn’t that bad. I was excited, mostly. Except for the part when the ghosts screamed at me,” he jokes, looking for the keys in his washed jeans.

“I totally get that,” Renjun says, trying to laugh, but choking as he looks at Jaemin. He’s just a few centimeters taller than him, handsome in his dark pink hoodie, his hair all messed up from the nap, and his smile is so, so lovely.

Jaemin, under the dim lights of the outside of his house, looking so pretty, and Renjun’s heart just stops.

He would like to say it’s involuntary, but really, it’s not. He takes a step closer, putting a hand on Jaemin’s cheek. And just like that, cold and sleepy, he kisses Jaemin for the first time on his doorstep. It’s short, but sweet, just like Jaemin.

“Wha —”

“I like you,” Renjun says right away, watching the way Jaemin’s eyes widen for a second, and enjoying it a bit _too_ much.

“I like you too, Injunnie,” Jaemin says, laughing loudly as he takes Renjun’s hand between his own. “I’m so glad.”

Renjun smiles. “You know what?” He squeezes Jaemin’s warm between his own. “Me too.”

Jaemin laughs again, kissing the tip of his nose as he open the door with one hand and grabs Renjun with the other. They both stumble into Jaemin's house, tripping over their feet as Jaemin leans over once again. Renjun can feel Jaemin smiling into the kiss, and his heart beating loudly in his ears. This feels new, but at the same time, like that old, familiar tingle of something like magic.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> Feel free to leave comments and kudos!


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